Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi returned to Mecca with the
Jiddan soldiers and the governor of Jidda, Sharîf Pasha, thirty-eight days
after the bandits were defeated in Jidda. They drove away the bandits left in
Mecca, and he became the amîr again. The bandits attacked the villages around
Tâ’if and killed many people to take revenge on the Meccans. They appointed the
bandit ’Uthmân al-Mudâyiqî as the governor of Tâ’if. ’Uthmân called together
all the bandits around Mecca and laid siege to the city with a big gang of
looters in 1220 (1805). The Meccan Muslims suffered distress and hunger for
months, and there was not even left a dog to eat on the last days of the siege.
Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi understood that there was no other way out but to enter
into a treaty with the enemy in order to save citizens’ lives. He surrendered
the city under the condition that he should be left as the amîr of the city and
that the Muslims’ lives and possessions should be safe.
The bandits captured Medina after Mecca and plundered
the most valuable historical treasures of the world, which had been collected
in the Khazînat
an-Nabawiyya (the Prophetic
Treasure) for over a millennium. They treated the Muslims in so rude a manner
that it is impossible to put into words. Then, they went back to Dar’iyya after
appointing somebody named Mubârak ibn Maghyan as the governor of the city. They
stayed in Mecca and Medina and did not let the pilgrims of Ahl as-Sunna into
Mecca for seven years. They covered the Ka’ba with two sheets of black cloth
called Qailan. They forbade smoking the hookah and badly cudgelled
those who smoked it. Meccans and Medinans disliked and kept away from them.
Ayyûb Sabrî Pasha (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ) reported in
the first volume of his book Mir’ât al-Haramain, which
was published in
“The tortures done to the Muslims in the blessed city
of Mecca and to the pilgrims every year were so heavy that it is very difficult
to describe in detail.
“The chief of the bandits, Sa’ûd, frequently sent
letters of threat to the amîr of the Meccans, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi. Although
Sa’ûd had laid siege to Mecca several times, he had not been able to penetrate
into the city until 1218 (1802). Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi, with the governor of
Jidda, assembled the leaders of the pilgrim caravans from Damascus and Egypt in
1217 and told them that the bandits intended to attack the blessed city of
Mecca, and that if they would help him they altogether could capture Sa’ûd,
their chief. But his proposal was not accepted. Then, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi
appointed his brother Sharîf ’Abd al-Mu’în Effendi as his deputy and went to
Jidda. Sharîf’ Abd al-Mu’în Effendi, as the amîr of Mecca, sent five scholars
of Ahl as-Sunna, namely Muhammad Tâhir, Sayyid Muhammad Abu Bakr, Mîr Ghanî,
Sayyid Muhammad ’Akkâs and ’Abd al-Hâfiz al-’Ajamî, as a committee of goodwill
and forgiveness to Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz in 1218.
“Sa’ûd responded and went to Mecca with his soldiers.
He appointed ’Abd al-Mu’în as the head official of the district and ordered
that all shrines and graves should be demolished, because, in view of the
Wahhâbîs, the people of Mecca and Medina were not worshipping Allâhu ta’âlâ,
but shrines. They said that they would be worshipping Allah in its true form if
shrines and graves were demolished. According to Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb,
all the Muslims had died as disbelievers or poytheists since
“Sa’ûd attacked Jidda to seize Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi
(rahmat-Allâhu ’alaih) and capture Jidda. But, the people of Jidda, hand in
hand with the Ottoman soldiers, bravely defeated the enemies and put Sa’ûd’s
soldiers to flight. Sa’ûd, gathering those fleeing, returned to Mecca.
“Although Sharîf ’Abd al-Mu’în Effendi (rahmat-Allâhi
’alaih) tried to be friendly with the Wahhâbîs in order to protect the Meccan
Muslims against massacre and torture, the ferocious
Wahhâbîs increased the severity of torture and pillage
day by day. Seeing it was impossible to get along with them in peace, he sent a
message to Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi saying that Sa’ûd was in Mecca with his
soldiers encamped at the Mu’allâ Square and that it would be possible to
capture Sa’ûd if he assaulted them with a small number of soldiers.
“Upon the message, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi took some
distinguished soldiers with the governor of Jidda, Sharîf Pasha, and attacked
the Wahhâbîs in Mecca at nighttime. He encircled their tents, but Sa’ûd fled
alive. His soldiers said that they would surrender their arms if they would be
forgiven, and their wish was accepted. Thus the blessed city of Mecca was saved
from those cruel people. This success frightened the Wahhâbîs in Tâ’if, who
also surrendered without any bloodshed. The cruel ’Uthmân al-Mudâyiqî fled to
the mountains in Yemen with his men. Seeing that those who were driven out of
Mecca had started robbing villagers and tribesmen in the countryside, Sharîf
Ghâlib Effendi sent messengers to the Banî Saqîf tribe and ordered, ‘Go to
Tâ’if and raid the Wahhâbîs! Take for yourself whatever you capture!’ The Banî
Saqîf tribe attacked Tâ’if to take revenge on the looters, and thus Tâ’if was
saved, too.
“ ’Uthmân al-Mudâyiqî gathered the ignorant, savage
villagers of the Yemen Mountains and, with the Wahhâbîs he met on his way, laid
siege to Mecca. Meccans suffered severely in the city for three months. Sharîf
Ghâlib Effendi failed in his attempts to sally out against the besiegers,
although he tried ten times. The food stocks vanished. The price of bread went
up to five rials and butter to six rials per oke (
agreement with his enemies. You, too, please agree
with the enemy and relieve us of this trouble. You will be following our master
Rasûlullâh’s sunna by doing so. Because, Rasûlullâh had sent Hadrat ’Uthmân [from Khudaibiya] to the Quraish tribe in
Mecca to make an agreement.’ Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi distracted people from this
idea of surrender until the last moment and did not go into an agreement. He
yielded to the constraint of a man of religious duty named ’Abd ar-Rahmân when
the people could not endure the difficulty any longer. It was very intelligent
of Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi to have listened to ’Abd ar-Rahmân and to use him as a
mediator in preventing Sa’ûd from torturing the Muslims. He also won the favour
of Meccans and soldiers by saying, ‘I yielded to make an agreement unwillingly;
I was planning to wait till the time for pilgrimage.’
“After the capitulation, Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz
entered Mecca. He covered the Magnificient Ka’ba with coarse felt. He dismissed
Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih). He attacked here and there like a
pharaoh and tortured the people in an unconceivable way. Because no help had
come from the Ottomans, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi was offended. He disseminated the
hearsay that the reason for the surrender of Mecca was due to the slackness of
the Ottoman government, and he incited Sa’ûd not to let the Egyptian and
Damascene pilgrims into Mecca in order to provoke the Ottomans to start action
against the Wahhâbîs.
“This behaviour of Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi made Sa’ûd
get more ferocious, and he increased the torture. He tortured and killed most
of the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna and prominent and rich people of Mecca. He
threatened those who did not announce that they were Wahhâbîs. His men shouted,
‘Accept Sa’ûd’s religion! Shelter under his vast shadow!’ in markets, bazaars
and streets. He forced Muslims to accept Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s
religion. The number of the faithful people who could protect their true faith
and correct madhhab decreased greatly, as it was in the deserts.
“Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi, seeing the dismal situation
and apprehending that Islam would be annihilated also in the Hijaz and the
blessed cities as it had in the Arabian deserts, sent a message to Sa’ûd,
saying, ‘You cannot resist the Ottoman army that will be sent from Istanbul if
you stay in Mecca after the season of the pilgrimage. You will be captured and
killed. Do not stay in Mecca after the pilgrimage, go away!’ This message was
of no avail but only increased Sa’ûd’s ferocity and
cruelty in torturing Muslims.
“During this period of tyranny and torture, Sa’ûd ibn
’Abd al-’Azîz asked an ’âlim of Ahl as-Sunna, ‘Is Hadrat Muhammad (’alaihi
’s-salâm) alive in his grave? Or is he dead like every dead person as we
believe he is?’ The ’âlim said, ‘He is alive with a life which we cannot comprehend.’
Sa’ûd asked him this question because he expected such an answer on account of
which he would easily torture him to death. ‘Then, show us that the Prophet
is alive in his grave so that we may believe you. It will be understood that
you are obstinate in refusing my religion if you answer incongruously, and I
will kill you,’ said Sa’ûd. ‘I shall not try to convince you by showing
something unrelated to the subject. Let’s go to al-Madînat al-Munawwara
together and stand in front of the Muwâjahat as-Sa’âda. I shall greet him. If
he returns my greeting, you will see that our master Rasûlullâh is alive in his blessed grave and that he hears and answers those who
greet him. If we get no answer to my greeting, it will be understood that I am
a liar. Then you may punish me in any way you wish,’ answered the ’âlim of Ahl
as-Sunna. Sa’ûd got very angry at this answer but let him go, for he would have
become a disbeliever or polytheist according to his own beliefs if he had done
as the ’âlim proposed. He was stupefied for he was not learned enough to make
any rejoinder to this answer. He set the ’âlim free so that he might not be
disreputed. However, he ordered one soldier to kill him and to immediately let
him know when he was killed. But the Wahhâbî soldier, by the Grace of Allah,
could not find an opportunity to attain his goal. This terrible news reached
the ear of that mujâhid scholar, who then migrated away from Mecca thinking
that it would not be good for him to stay in Mecca any longer.
“Sa’ûd sent an assassin after the mujâhid when he
heard of his departure. The assassin travelled day and night, thinking that he
would kill one belonging to Ahl as-sunna and win much thawâb. He caught up with
the mujâhid but saw that he had died a normal death shortly before he reached
him. He tethered the mujâhid’s camel to a tree and went to a well for water.
When he returned, he found that the corpse was gone and only the camel was
there. He went back to Sa’ûd and told him what had happened. ‘Oh, yes!’ Sa’ûd
said, ‘I dreamt of that person ascending to the heavens among voices of dhikr
and tasbîh. People with shining faces said that the corpse was his (the
mujâhid’s) and was being raised up
to the heavens because of his correct belief in the
Last Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam).’ Thereupon,
the Wahhâbî said, ‘You sent me to murder such a blessed person! And now you do
not correct your corrupt belief although you see Allâhu ta’âlâ’s favour on
him!’ and swore at Sa’ûd. He repented. Sa’ûd did not even listen to the man. He
appointed ’Uthmân al-Mudâyiqî to be the governor of Mecca and went back do
Dar’iyya.
“Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz lived in Dar’iyya. He
captured the blessed city of Medina, too. Later, he set out for Mecca with
those who wanted to go on pilgrimage and those who were able to talk well. Men
of religious attire who were to praise and disseminate Wahhâbism went ahead.
They started reading and explaining the book written by Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb in
the Masjid al-Harâm in Mecca on Friday the 7th of Muharram, 1221 (1806). The
’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna refuted them.[1]
Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz arrived ten days later. He settled in Sharîf Ghâlib
Effendi’s mansion at Mu’allâ Square. He put a part of the cover he wore on
Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi as a demonstration of friendship. And Sharîf Ghâlib
Effendi showed friendship towards him. They went together to Majsid al-Harâm
and performed tawâf around the Magnificient Ka’ba together.
“Meanwhile, the news came that a caravan of Damascene
pilgrims was coming towards Mecca. Sa’ûd sent Mas’ûd ibn Mudâyiqî to meet the
caravan and tell them that they would not be allowed into Mecca. Mas’ûd met the
caravan and said, ‘You disregarded the previous agreement. Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd
al-’Azîz had sent you an order with Sâlih ibn Sâlih that you should not come
with soldiers. But you come with soldiers! You cannot enter Mecca, for you have
not obeyed the order.’ The leader of the caravan, ’Abdullâh Pasha, sent Yûsuf
Pasha to Sa’ûd to ask his forgiveness and permission. Sa’ûd said, ‘Oh Pasha! I
would kill all of you if I did not fear Allah. Bring me the sacks of gold coins
which you intend to distribute to the people of the Haramain and Arab
villagers, and immediately go back! I forbid you the pilgrimage this year!’
Yûsuf Pasha surrendered to him the sacks of gold and turned back.
“The news that the Damascene caravan was prevented
from carrying out the pilgrimage spread as a terrible shock among
[1] For details, see Saif al-Jabbâr, a collection of the Meccan ’ulamâ’s refutations of Wahhâbism, later printed in Pakistan; reprint in Istanbul in 1395 (1975).
the Muslim world. Meccan Muslims wept and lamented for
they thought that they, too, were forbidden to got to ’Arafât. The following
day they were given permission to go to ’Arafât, but were forbidden to go on
mahfas or camel-palanquins. Everybody, even judges and ’ulamâ’, went to ’Arafât
on donkey or camel. Instead of the qâdî of Mecca, a Wahhabî delivered the
khutba at ’Arafât. They returned to Mecca after carrying out the acts necessary
to the pilgrimage.
“Sa’ûd dismissed the qâdî of Mecca, Khatîb-zâda
Muhammad Effendi, from service upon his arrival to Mecca and appointed a
Wahhâbî named ’Abd ar-Rahmân as the qâdî. ’Abd ar-Rahmân summoned Muhammad
Effendi, Su’adâ Effendî, the mullah (chief judge) of Medina, and ’Atâ’î
Effendi, the naqîb (representative of the Sharîfs in Mecca) of the blessed city
of Mecca, and made them sit on the felt on the floor. He told them to pay
homage to Sa’ûd. These ’âlims clasped hands saying, ‘Lâ ilâha illa’llâh wahdahu lâ Sharika
lah,’ in accord with the Wahhâbite
belief and sat down on the floor again. Sa’ûd laughed and said, ‘I command you
and the pilgrims of the Damascene caravan to Sâlih ibn Sâlih’s care. Sâlih is
one of my good men. I trust him. I permit you to go to Damascus on the condition
that you will pay 300 kurushes for each mafha -and load- camel and 150 kurushes
for each donkey. It is a great favour for you to be able to go to Damascus at
such a low price. You may go comfortably and happily under my protection. All
pilgrims will travel under these conditions. And this is a justice of mine. I
wrote a letter to the Ottoman Sultan, Hadrat Salîm Khan III [rahmat-Allâhi
’alaih]. I asked that it be forbidden to build domes on graves, to make
sacrifice for the dead and to pray through them.’
“Sa’ûd stayed in Mecca for four years. Muhammad ’Alî
Pasha, the Governor of Egypt, came to Jidda in